WELLMAN

Mid-Prairie senior Jack Pennington was looking for a family atmosphere.

Another one.

He discovered a welcoming atmosphere in committing to the basketball program at Cornell College, which is led by Mid-Prairie graduate and former coach Dave Schlabaugh.

Pennington, who was a starting guard for the River Valley Conference South champion Golden Hawks, committed to Cornell in March, not long after the Golden Hawks lost in the quarterfinal round of the Class 2A boys state tournament.

“Going up there and watching some games and talking to the coach, it just felt like a family atmosphere,” Pennington said. “I really felt included in that already as a recruit, I would say. Just felt really family-like, similar to what I have here.”

“I am very excited for Jack and his opportunity to continue competing at the next level at Cornell,” Mid-Prairie head basketball coach Daren Lambert said. “He is a great player and leader who worked extremely hard throughout his career and constantly improved year to year. I know Coach Schlabaugh is excited to have Jack join his program and he is excited to have a Mid-Prairie guy on the team.”

The family part stretches back to Mid-Prairie, where Schlabaugh went to school and first was a Golden Hawks assistant in 1984. Schlabaugh remains a family friend of Marc Pennington, Jack’s dad. Cornell’s campus in Mount Vernon is located an hour away, meaning the Penningtons will have an easy trip for home games.

“We know Dave well and know he will be in good hands at Cornell,” Marc Pennington said. “Their program made the NCAA Tournament this past year and have a brand new athletics facility opening this fall. We are really excited to continue to watch Jack grow and compete at Cornell.”

“It should be a lot of fun” said Jack Pennington, who is a starting defender for Mid-Prairie’s soccer team this spring.

Schlabaugh coached the Rams to a 19-win season this year and the school’s first appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament in 13 years. Cornell defeated Ripon in double overtime to win its first Midwest Conference championship since 1994.

“I have worked with and gotten to know Coach Schlabaugh and his staff at Snow Valley Basketball Camp and know Jack is going to play for coaches who know basketball and are also men of character,” Lambert said.

The school’s unique “one course at a time” block-plan academics calendar was a plus for Pennington.

“Not just the athletic side, but the academics appealed to me as well with the one course at a time,” he said.